Writing & Poetry Competitions & Submissions – December 2025
We’ve almost reached the end of the year but there are still over 150 poetry competitions, writing submissions and literary opportunities open or with deadlines in December 2025.
Endings
It’s been a pretty tough year for me, a benchmark year, where I’ve been actively trying to bring a long-standing harmful situation to an end, and build a simpler, more sustainable future where I can focus on the work that brings me joy. This week, that future drew one step closer when I put my home of twenty years up for sale.
It’s been a labour of many months and I am so grateful for all the kindness and support I’ve received from this community during that time, whether taking part in my various writing offerings or donating toward my crowdfunder campaign. Heartfelt thanks to you all.
I still have a little way to go, to cover moving and living costs until the sale goes through, and have opened up the Wordbox shop for a little post-Black Friday, pre-Xmas sale.
Cyber Monday Offers
I didn't quite get my act together for Black Friday (largely due to a fall and a fractured humerus) but I didn’t want the occasion to pass entirely without offering a few bargain opportunities to help focus on your writing this winter:
30% Off all self-study 30-Day Writing Challenges - usually €49, now €34.30, including two new additions - Into the Woods & Shadowlands, perfect for writing exploration in the depths of winter!
40% Off Writing Slant | Making a Poem self-study craft course - usually €150, now €90. If you have a stash of abandoned first drafts that you don’t know what to do with, this course will guide you through a process to reveal and polish those hidden gems.
30% Off all One-to-One Mentoring sessions - usually €95 / €285 / €570, now €66.50 / €199.50 / €399. Preparing to submit poems for publication? Mentoring provides a fresh perspective along with valuable advice on how to refine and polish your work.
Self-study courses can be started at any time and the mentoring sessions are valid for one year from booking.
Offers end Sunday 7 December at 11.59pm.
The Future of the Monthly Poetry List
The list has been around in one form or another for over ten years. Each list takes around 15-20 working hours to source, write and disseminate, and this year it has already received over 125,000 unique visitors from 97 countries and territories worldwide.
I have always wanted to keep the list as an open resource accessible to everyone, which would be possible if enough people made a small contribution toward its upkeep, and although I am lucky enough to have a small number of regular contributors, it doesn’t come close to covering the costs involved or my own time.
The alternative is to turn the list into a Substack-type arrangement, only available to those who can afford it, at a cost of around €60/year or €6/month.
I don’t want to do this, and if the cost is spread among many, it can remain in the public realm.
Last December, I called for 250 readers to contribute a one-off donation of €15 or a subscription of €1.25 per month via the Annual Christmas Appeal, to safeguard the list for another year. Many responded with greater sums and I’m hugely grateful for their generosity and dedication to supporting this as a free resource for the writing community.
However, the appeal did not meet its target, which has left me wondering how to continue offering this service to the writing community whilst also valuing my own time and energy.
If you would like to see the monthly list continue as a free resource for writers in 2026, please donate via one of the donation links below.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
DONATE OR SUBSCRIBE VIA PAYPAL
DONATE VIA STRIPE (CREDIT CARD)
If you are unable to donate please consider sharing a link to either the courses or the GoFundMe campaign with your own writing network and/or social media.
To everyone who has contributed this year, thank you so much for your kindness and generosity in valuing this work.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS
As ever, I remain grateful for the understanding and encouragement of this wonderful community of writers, those who participate in the Wordbox poetry events and those who read this blog.
I love working with you and helping you to send your work into the world. Thank you so much for your support throughout this year and I hope these lists have helped pave the way to literary success. If you are in a position to give back, it is very much appreciated.
When writing your holiday gift shopping lists, please remember to shop local and support writers, small presses and independent bookstores this Christmas.
I wish you a happy, healthy, safe and peaceful holiday season and the very best of luck in sending out your poems this month. Take care and I look forward to seeing you in 2026!
All the best,
Angela x
Writing Courses and Events
Writing Slant | Making a Poem - the Wordbox signature self-study 6-week poetry editing course.
DIY 30-DAY WRITING CHALLENGES:
La Dolce Vita | An Italian Odyssey
Songs of a Pagan Place | Writing the Irish Myths & Legends
Fool’s Gold | 30 Days of Writing the Tarot
The Winter Almanac | A Writing Journey in January
Gods & Monsters | Writing the Greek Myths & Legends
Miracle Machine | Writing the Body
All self-study courses are automated and can be started and carried out at your own pace.
Keep in Touch
For the latest poetry lists, writing prompts, events and news, find Wordbox online here:
Please save/follow these links and remember, if the list is not already on the blog, it’s not published.
Alternatively, have the list delivered direct to your inbox by joining the mailing list here.
December 2025
Jessie Kesson Fellowship – Established writers working in fiction, poetry, non-fiction, song-writing, or playwriting – closes 4 Dec (submit online)
Variant Lit – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Non-fiction – closes 4 Dec (submit online)
Only Poems – Poetry, theme: Elegy Owed – closes 7 Dec (submit online)
Palette Poetry Love & Eros Prize – Poetry, theme: Love – closes 7 Dec (submit online)
PN Review – Poetry – closes 7 Dec (submit online (subscribers only) or by post)
Under the Radar – Poetry, theme: Outside – closes 7 Dec (submit online (subscribers only) or by post)
HNDL – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Art & more, theme: Devour – closes 9 Dec (submit online)
Magma – Poetry, theme: Architecture – closes 10 Dec (submit online)
Frontier Poetry Family & Home Prize – Poetry, theme: Family & Home – closes 14 Dec (submit online)
Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award – Poetry manuscript in progress – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
Bayou Magazine – Poetry, Fiction – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
Cecil Hemley Memorial Award – Narrative Poetry – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
Copper Nickel – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Translation – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Residencies – Literature, Film, Music & Sound – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
Emily Dickinson Award – Poetry (max. 16 lines) – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
Exposition Review – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Nonfiction, Art & more – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
George Bogin Memorial Award – Poetry (4-5 poems) – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
Ink Sweat & Tears – Word & Image, Film poems, theme: Christmas – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
Kings English Society Poetry Competition – Poetry, theme: The Gift – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
LitMag – Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
Lucille Medwick Memorial Award – Prose Poetry – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
Lyric Poetry Award – Lyrical Poetry – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
Mugwort Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Nonfiction, Artwork – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
Robert H. Winner Memorial Award – Poetry manuscript (poets aged 40+ with no more than one published collection) – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
Split Lip – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Memoir (free subs for Black writers) – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
The Boiler – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
West Trade Review – Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
Whale Road Review – Poetry, Flash – closes 15 Dec (submit online)
Faultline – Poetry, Art – closes 16 Dec (submit online)
Sunspot Lit – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Nonfiction, Graphic Novel, Art – closes 16 Dec (submit online)
The Griffin Poetry Prize – Poetry collections published July-Dec 2025 (publishers only) – closes 16 Dec (submit online)
Coast to Coast to Coast – Poetry – closes 18 Dec (submit online)
Mermaid Arts Centre Open Call – Artists/Facilitators (all disciplines) – closes 19 Dec (submit online)
Assetto Fellowships for Creative Practitioners-in-Residence – Writers, Visual Artists, Filmmakers, Photographers, Composers, Designers, Game Developers & more – closes 22 Dec (submit online)
SCWC Writers Residencies – All disciplines – closes 22 Dec (submit online)
The Ex-Puritan – Poetry, Fiction, Essays – closes 25 Dec (submit online)
Hare’s Paw – Poetry, Flash Fiction & Non-fiction – closes 28 Dec (submit online)
Lavina Press – Poetry, Fiction Creative Non-fiction, Theme: Fairytales, Myths & Legends – closes 30 Dec (submit online)
Anthropocene – Poetry – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
Arc Poetry Magazine – Poetry – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
Dorset Prize – Poetry manuscript (48-88 pages) – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
Fruit Journal – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Hybrid (LGBTQI+, with emphasis on unheard voices – POC, trans, working class) – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
Granta – Fiction, Non-fiction – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
Hollis Summers Poetry Prize – Poetry manuscript (60-95 pages) – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
Irish Haiku Society International Competition – Haiku, Senryu poetry – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
IWC National Mentoring Programme – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Children/Young Adults – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
Kemptown Bookshop Writing Competition – Poetry, Fiction, Flash – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
Kenyon Review Poetry Contest – Poetry (unpublished poets) – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
Okay Donkey – Poetry, Flash – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
Pleiades – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
The Moth Poetry Prize – Poetry – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
The Two Sylvias Press Wilder Series Poetry Book Prize – Poetry manuscript (48-80 pages, female/identified poets over the age of 50 only) – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
Thimble Lit – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction, Art – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
Tyger Tyger – Poetry for Children, theme: Big Things – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
Wolverhampton Literature Festival – Poetry – closes 31 Dec (submit online)
Mississippi Review Annual Contests – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction – closes 1 Jan (submit online)
Shepton Snowdrops Poetry Competition – Poetry – closes 4 Jan (submit online)
Charles Causley International Poetry Competition – Poetry – closes 4 Jan (submit online)
ROPES – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Memoir, Essay, theme: Punk – closes 5 Jan (submit online)
Mslexia – Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction – closes 5 Jan (submit online)
OPPORTUNITIES WITH OPEN SUBMISSION PERIODS IN JANUARY 2025
Sunday Mornings at the River – Poetry, theme: For Those Who Despair – not specified (submit online)
Derby Poetry Festival Poetry Prize – Poetry – closes 11 Jan (submit online)
Poetry Kit International Poetry Competition – Poetry – closes 12 Jan (submit online)
The Test Site Poetry Prize – Poetry manuscripts (min. 48 pages) – closes 15 Jan (submit online)
Michael Marks Awards for Poetry Pamphlets – Poetry manuscript (max. 36 pages) – closes 21 Jan (submit online)
Kent & Sussex Poetry Society Open Poetry Competition – Poetry – closes 31 Jan (submit online)
Leeds Peace Poetry Competition – Poetry, theme: Extinction – closes 31 Jan (submit online)
The Broken Spine – Poetry, theme: Fragments – closes 31 Jan (submit online)
OPPORTUNITIES WITH OPEN SUBMISSION PERIODS
Acumen – Poetry – open (submit online)
A New Ulster – Poetry, Fiction, Artwork – open (submit online)
Anthropocene – Poetry – open (submit online)
Antiphony – Poetry, Nonfiction – open (submit online)
Atrium – Poetry – open (submit online)
Bear Review – Poetry, Fiction, Essays, Artwork – open (submit online)
Bending Genres – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction – open (submit online)
Blackbird – Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, Arts – open (submit online)
Carve Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction – open (submit online)
Confingo Publishing – Poetry, Fiction, Art, Photography – open (submit online)
Crow & Cross Keys – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, theme: Gothic – open (submit online)
Crowstep Journal – Poetry – open (submit online)
Damnation – Poetry, Prose, Flash – open (submit online)
Disabled Tales – Poetry, Fiction, Essay – open (submit online)
Dithering Chaps – Poetry – open (submit online)
Dreich Mag – Poetry – open (submit online)
Driftwood Press – Poetry, Fiction, Literary Criticism – open (submit online)
Dust Poetry – Poetry – open (submit online)
Empty House Press – Poetry, Prose Poetry, Flash, Hybrid – open (submit online)
Empty Mirror – Poetry, Non-fiction, Visual Art (committed to diversity & inclusion) – open (submit online)
Fecund Journal – Poetry, Fiction, Essay & more (POC only) – open (submit online)
Frontier Poetry – Poetry – open (submit online)
Fruit Journal – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Hybrid (LGBTQI+, with emphasis on unheard voices – POC, trans, working class) – open (submit online)
Gather Lit Mag – Poetry – open (submit online)
Guernica – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Photo Essays – open (submit by post)
Hosking Houses Trust Residencies – Women writers over 40 (all genres – must have contract to publish / broadcast / perform) – open (submit online)
Narrative Mag – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction. Plays – open (submit online)
New Contrast – Poetry, Fiction – open (submit online)
Neon Magazine – Poetry, Flash, Art and more – open (submit online)
Obsessed with Pipework – Poetry – open (submit online)
Omelette Literary Magazine – Poetry, Visual Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Creative Non-fiction & more – open (submit online)
One – Poetry, a single poem – open (submit online)
Only Poems – Poetry – open (submit online)
Orbis – Poetry – open (submit by post (UK) or online (overseas only))
Palette Poetry – Poetry (under-represented and marginalized voices of all colors encouraged to submit) – open (submit online)
Peepal Tree Press – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction manuscripts from Black & Caribbean writers – open (submit online)
Pigeon Pages – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction – open (submit online)
POETRY Magazine – Poetry (submit online)
Poetry London – Poetry – open (submit by post or online)
Poetry Salzburg – Poetry – open (submit by post or online)
Poetry Wales – Poetry – open (submit by post or online)
Porridge Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Art – open (submit online)
PN Review – Poetry, Essays, Reviews – open (submit by post)
Prelude – Poetry – open (submit online)
Prism International – Poetry, Fiction, Creative nonfiction, Translation – open (submit online)
Prole – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-fiction – open (submit online)
Psaltery & Lyre – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Hybrid – open (submit online)
Riggwelter – Poetry, Short Fiction, Visual Art – (submit online)
River Styx – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Drama, Visual Art – open (submit online)
Shakespeare & Co Tumbleweeds Residency – all writers – open (submit online)
Sine Theta Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Art (Sino diaspora only. People of Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong, or Macau heritage, who live anywhere away from the original ‘homeland’ of that heritage – rolling deadlines, email to express interest (submit online)
Spry Literary Journal – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Creative Non-fiction, Artwork – open (submit online)
Squawk Back – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Reviews, Plays – open (submit online)
Stand Magazine – Poetry, Fiction – open (submit online)
Stepaway Magazine – Poetry, Flash Fiction, theme: walking in the city – open (submit online)
Sunday Mornings at the River – Poetry – open (submit online)
Tab Journal – Poetry, Poetics – open (submit online)
Tears in the Fence – Poetry – open (submit online)
The Brooklyn Quarterly – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Translation, Humour – open (submit online)
The Cardiff Review – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Flash (preference given to students and unpublished graduates of Creative Writing, English Literature & Journalism) – open (submit online)
The Curly Mind – Poetry, theme: experimental – open (submit online)
The Dalloway – Poetry, Fiction, Flash – open (submit online)
The Galway Review – Poetry, Fiction, Non-fiction, Reviews, Plays – open (submit online)
The Lake – Poetry – open (submit online)
The Lascaux Review – Poetry, Fiction, Essays – open (submit online)
The Lincoln Review – Poetry, Flash, Creative Non-fiction, Essays and more (actively encourages writers, artists, and photographers who come from marginalised and underprivileged backgrounds) – open (submit online)
The London Magazine – Poetry, Non-Fiction, Art – open (submit online)
The Missouri Review – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction – open (submit online)
The New Absurdist – Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction – open (submit online)
The New Yorker – Poetry, Fiction – open (submit online)
The Offing – Poetry, Translation, Art and more – open (submit online)
The Orphic Review – Poetry & Art – open (submit online)
The Oxonian – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Translation – open (submit online)
The Poetry Village – Poetry – open (submit online)
The Poetry Review – Poetry – open (submit online)
The Pomegranate – Poetry, Fiction, Flash, Nonfiction, theme: Writing about Artists – open (submit online)
The Seventh Quarry – Short Poetry – open (submit online)
The Southeast Review – Poetry, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Reviews, Artwork – open (submit online)
The Sun Magazine – Poetry, Fiction, Essays, Interviews – open (submit online)
Tinderbox Poetry Journal – Poetry – open (submit online)
Trasna – Poetry, Fiction, Essays (open to writers across the world who consider Ireland a home in some regard) – open (submit online)
Wildness – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction – open (submit online)
Winged Penny Review – Poetry, Fiction – open (submit online)
Wishbone Words – Poetry, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Visual Art & more (disabled and chronically ill writers/artists) – open (submit online)
Best of luck!
If you have a competition or journal with a deadline in DECEMBER 2025, and it is not included above, feel free to send me the details.
